Disclaimer: I am not making any money by reviewing this book. However, I was paid to edit it.
A common problem veterans have when transitioning is how to “brand” themselves.
It’s not something we really have to learn how to do in a system that assigns you to places at their pleasure and yells loudly about how there’s no “I” in team.
When you approach your military-to-civilian transition, though, you have to shift gears.
There are two “I”s in civilian and you need to embrace at least one of them.
As important as being able to define yourself is, you also need to be able to convey who you are and what you bring to the table.
And to do it before you start writing that resume.
We’ve talked about personal branding before on the blog, but if you’re still unsure where to start or how to answer the “Tell me about yourself” question, then you need to pick up Graciela Tiscareño-Sato’s new book B.R.A.N.D. Before You Resume: Your Marketing Guide for Veterans and Military Service Members Entering Civilian Life.
Who is Graciela Tiscareño-Sato?
Graciela Tiscareño-Sato is a former Air Force navigator turned award-winning author, multicultural publisher, bilingual K-12 STEM consultant, keynote speaker, and founder and CEO of Gracefully Global Group LLC.
If you’ve read the blog before, you may recognize Graciela from my review of her bilingual children’s book Good Night Captain Mama or when we collaborated on a giveaway of its sequel, Captain Mama’s Surprise.
by Air Force Veteran Graciela Tiscareño-Sato
Or you might know her as a founding member of the Women Veterans Speakers Bureau (formerly the National Women Veterans Speakers Bureau).
You may have seen her on a Vets2Industry networking event (she’s a facilitator and active participant) or recognized her as one of the ten women veterans honored as a Champion of Change by the Obama White House.
Or maybe you’ve seen her talk for Virtual School Assembly on her path from daughter of Mexican immigrants to military aviation.
Can you see some of the themes in Graciela’s brand?
Graciela Tiscareño-Sato is a master at articulating her brand. She has also been helping military veterans, service members, and their spouses learn how to articulate their brands since 2013 and now she’s released B.R.A.N.D. Before Your Resume: Your Marketing Guide for Veterans and Military Service Members Entering Civilian Life to make that knowledge accessible to transitioning veterans in a new way.
What is B.R.A.N.D. Before Your Resume?
B.R.A.N.D. Before Your Resume is Graciela Tiscareño-Sato’s newest book.
Based on workshops that she’s run across the country to help student veterans, transitioning service members, and military spouses, this book helps veterans learn to change the way you think and talk about yourself post-military.
It also provides actionable information to help veterans build that all-important personal branding statement (aka your elevator pitch).
Graciela starts the book by telling you her military transition story and the critical assistance and advice a group of women veterans provided that helped set Graciela up for post-military success.
She talks about her experiences becoming a marketing professional and how a co-worker helped her understand how to take the skills she was applying to marketing products and use them to advance her career and establish a personal brand.
Graciela goes on to share all of that great advice with her readers. Even better, she’s converted the lessons into easy-to-follow exercises to help you build your own personal brand—even if you don’t know the first thing about branding or marketing!
What else can you expect in B.R.A.N.D. Before Your Resume?
– Why a personal brand isn’t really about you
– The mental hurdles you need to overcome to develop your brand
– How to get specific on who needs to hear your brand
– What to do after you’ve defined your brand.
Who Should Read B.R.A.N.D. Before Your Resume?
While anyone could read this book and would benefit from its contents, you really shouldn’t pick up Graciela’s book until after you’ve determined what you want to do post-military.
If you don’t have that figured out yet and are still “carpet bombing” your post-military job search,
Check out my ClearanceJobs article on How to Apply the Military Decisionmaking Methodology to Your Transition on how to get clear on your post-military pathway.
Or schedule a one-on-one coaching call with me. In just 30 minutes, I can help you get past the overwhelm and start to get focused on what you want to do after the DD-214.
Sarah’s great combination of encouragement and candor is very rare. She shares her diverse experiences and coaches with actionable recommendations. Strongly recommend her for anyone struggling with vision and focus.
James Castleberry, Navy Veteran
Once you’re clear on what your post-military target is, then Graciela’s advice can help you.
B.R.A.N.D. Before Your Resume can also help you if:
– You’re making a career change
– You’re starting or pivoting your business.
– You are or want to be a speaker.
Where Else Can I Learn This Information?
While the book contains a few secret surprises that make it worth buying in addition to all of the stuff we’ve already talked about, if you’d prefer a different format, Graciela Tiscareño-Sato delivers her marketing magic via multiple platforms.
She offers an online workshop on personal branding for veterans.
Or you can contact her to bring her via Zoom or in-person (post-COVID) to your college, university, or veterans organization.
If you’re ready to get your copy, you can order it here.
What are you waiting for? Get branding!
© 2020, Sarah Maples LLC. All rights reserved.
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